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Keeping Children Entertained During the Summer Holidays in Spain
The school summer holidays can be daunting for parents especially if you live in Spain where children in state schools finish term at the end of June and don’t return until mid September. Thinking of ways to entertain them requires a lot of imagination and often a lot of money. Having children of considerably different ages poses further problems. The beach is an obvious form of distraction but it is not a good idea to spend all day, every day in the hot sun and children soon get bored and irritable with this.
So what are your options?
Check out what summer schools are on offer. The local municipal summer schools are very cheap and are usually held in the local schools. To find out about these you need to enquire at your local town hall, preferable sooner than later to secure a place. Look out for sports summer activities such as tennis and football.
The private international schools will also offer summer programmes, although these may be more expensive than their usual fees. Check out the following:
International School, Estepona
http://www.marbellaschool.com/page.php?title=Latest+News
Aloha College, Marbella
http://www.aloha-college.com/newsite/site/index.php?put=summer_home
Swans School, Marbella
http://www.swansschool.net/newsdetails.asp?cod=15
Sotogrande International School
http://www.sotograndecamps.com/
Oak House British School, Barcelona
http://www.oakhouseschool.com/english/extra/index.htm
The British School of Valencia
http://www.bsvalencia.com/
Elian´s British School, Alicante
http://www.elians.com/
The Lady Elizabeth School, Javea, Alicante
http://www.theladyelizabethschool.com/Home/EnglishVersion/Index.htm
The Academy, Mallorca
http://www.theacademyschool.com/
Not all schools offer courses that run throughout the entire duration of the summer and many run for just a couple of weeks in July, which leaves you with the issue of keeping them entertained during the hottest point of the year.
Here are some ideas that you might consider for keeping older children amused:
Visit a museum or an art gallery
Museo Picasso, Malaga
Museo Taurino (Bullfighting Museum), Estepona
Museo del Arte Flamenco, Jerez
Museo de la Alambra, Granada
Go to the cinema. You can choose to watch the Version Original (often American English) or if you want to practise your Spanish watch the dubbed version:
Multicine Larios, Malaga
La Cañada, Marbella
Marbella Multicines, Puerto Banús
Have a friend to stay. Let your child invite one or two friends to stay for a night. She can plan what to eat, and choose a couple of DVDs to watch.
Swimming lessons. This is really easy in Spain as most modern urbanisations have community pools. If not, check out your local outdoor municipal pool.
Let your child cook dinner. Keep it simple such as a salad or pizza base with toppings of their choice.
Open air theatre or concert. Keep any eye out for freebie newspapers and magazines to find out what is going on in your area.
Ferias. Most towns in Andalucia hold their annual ferias for a week during the summer.
Go for a picnic.
Have a clear out together of old toys and clothes and hand them into a charity shop. Try the:
Cudeca charity shops in; Alhaurín el Grande, Alora, Arroyo de la Miel, Coin, Estepona, Fuengirola, Nerja, Torre del Mar, Torremolinos, Cártama and Marbella.
Age Concern, Calle Zaragoza, Estepona
Swap DVDs and computer games with friends.
Buy some plain cheap t-shirts and they can customise them with buttons, feathers and bits of fabric, fabric pens.
The summer holidays can be expensive so get them to clean the car and help out with other domestic chores to earn pocket money for treats for them and free up some time for you. You might not trust them to do more dangerous tasks like ironing but they can load, unload the dishwasher and washing machines, dust and polish etc.
Theme Parks
Isla Magica – Seville. Open from March to October from 11am to midnight
Mini Hollywood – Almeria
Tivoli World – Arroyo de la Miel, Benalmadena
Animal Related
Sea Life Centre – Benalmadena Marina
Selwo Marina - Benalmadena
Selwo Wildlife Park – Estepona
Crocodile Park - Torremolinos
Zoo – Fuengirola
Zoo - Castellar
Tropical Bird Park – Almuñecar
Jardin de las Aguilas (Birds of Prey centre) - Benalmadena
Scientific
Parque de las Ciencias – Avenida del Mediterráneo, Granada
Marine Science Centre – Malaga
For younger children:
Remember not to put yourself under pressure to provide entertainment all day, every day. Children need time to develop their own interests and use their imagination- let them play in their bedroom or in the garden. Here are some ideas for when they get bored, some of them can you use with a combination of ages:
Make a tent – make a little hideaway by pegging old sheets or blankets over the washing line or rotary dryer and weighting them at the corners to create a tent. Put a blanket on the ground and let them take a packed lunch inside.
Put on a show. Set a theme e.g. Princesses or Pirates and send them off to practise. You can turn it into a big event by making tickets, putting up a curtain and preparing interval refreshments.
Create a cinema at home by closing the curtains, hiring DVDs and putting popcorn in big bowls. Join a local DVD hire shop to save money or check out Carrefour and El Corte Ingles for bargain DVDs. Usually what you would pay in pounds in the UK, you pay in euros here.
Put out a paddling pool to bath the dolls in.
Stock up on the basics such as paper, felt pens and paints. Buy sticker, activity and puzzle books. These can be bought cheaply in the Chinese supermarkets and Euro shops. Have lots of magazines, glue, scissors and a scrap book for each child. Keep old washing up liquid bottles, kitchen rolls and cereal packets to make rockets and other creations.
Do some baking. Children enjoy mixing dough and cutting out shapes for biscuits.
Take them to the park. The parks on the Costas are modern, safe with lots of choice and every town has at least one huge one. Check out Estepona and Sabanillas.
Arrange with some other mums to meet at the beach or park to play games.
Team up with other parents you know to share activities and childcare or baby-sitting?
Share the cost of a bouncy castle hire with some friends.
Swap toys, books, puzzles, DVDs with friends.
A simple skipping rope or bat and ball can keep them entertained for hours. Other ideas include a set of skittles, French skipping and hopscotch.
Take fishing net to the sea.
Do some gardening together or if you don’t have a garden plant some pots.
A Treasure hunt. Write down clues, which can be questions, riddles, puzzles, etc. and make the first clue give the location of the next and so on, eventually leading to a simple reward such as sweets. For young children this can all take place in your home and/or garden.
Hide and seek at home or in the park.
A trip to Gibraltar to see the monkeys or do the dolphin tour http://www.dolphinsafari.gi/about.htm
Fuengirola Zoo. But save this one for the evening as you won’t enjoy it during the heat of the day http://www.zoofuengirola.com/.
Go camping for a night. You don’t even need to go further than your back garden.
Keeping Safe in the Summer in Spain
Do not think that living in Spain makes your children less vulnerable to the dangers of the UK. Although, Spain is known as a child loving country it would be naïve to think that everybody has the best intentions towards children. We enjoy a more outdoor life here which means that children are at a greater risk than a lifestyle which is more indoor orientated. Read the following as a reminder of the ways to keep your children safe throughout the summer:
Playing outside
Always make sure you know where they are going and arrange a set time for them to be home.
Finding each other
When out and about visiting places, always arrange a meeting point in case any of you get lost.
Public toilets
Always go with your kids into the public toilets. If they’ll be on their own or with friends, make sure they know not to talk to strangers.
Lifts
Tell your children only to use lifts with friends, or not to feel worried about getting out if they feel uncomfortable about someone else being in there.
Emergency money
If your kids are making their own way home after playing with friends, make sure they always have some emergency money that can be used to phone you, or get a bus rather than walk. Make sure they understand that they are not to spend this on other things.
Your telephone numbers
Make sure they have a list of all your telephone numbers, including home, work, mobile and friends – so that they, or other adults can get in contact with you if they need to.
Leave Instructions
If you have to leave your older children alone for any period give them clear instructions about what to do if there is a problem. Leave a list of people you trust who they can go to.
How to Stay Sane
Children can test the patience of the most laid back parents at times. During the hot summer we can feel irritable and worn out with entertaining. Here are some ways to keep in control of the situation:
Try to get back into a routine. Late nights and long lazy days are what holidays are all about but try and ease them back into routine as the holiday comes to an end. That way,
bedtimes won’t be such a struggle when they do go back to school.
Don’t try and fill every minute of everyday you will get exhausted you and it is not necessary that children receive that much stimulation. Remember the quality of the time shared is more important than quantity.
Take time out for yourself as spending more time with your children during the summer holidays can cause a strain on some parents. It is important that you remember to take some time for yourself.
Check out the following sites for more ideas:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/cbeebies/grownups/things_to_do/
http://www.moonchildren.com/children/kidsthings.html
http://www.thebigproject.co.uk/kids_bot.htm